The goal of Lynching in America, which brings EJI’s multi-year investigation into more than 4,000 reported racial terror lynchings that took place in the United States during the period between Reconstruction and World War II to life, is to spark a national conversation about the connection between America’s painful history of racial violence and the forms of injustice that exist today, including racially-biased capital punishment, excessive sentencing, disproportionate sentencing of racial minorities, and police abuse of people of color.

Equal Justice Initiative is a private, nonprofit organization that provides legal representation to indigent defendants and prisoners who have been denied fair and just treatment in the legal system.

Last year, EJI collaborated with Google to bring their groundbreaking research on the history and legacy of lynching in America online for millions to access. To vocalize support, Andra recorded “Strange Fruit,” the 1939 Billie Holiday classic, to provide awareness of EJI’s work.

One Response to “Andra Day to perform “Strange Fruit” at Image Awards”

In 1959, when I interviewed Billie for my radio show, she told me that people didn’t understand the song, “Strange Fruit”. People asked her to sing “that sexy song”, thinking that “black people swinging” meant something else. Nobody could sing it with the depth she gave it and I would venture to guess that nobody could vandalize it to the extent that Andra Day did on the NAACP Image Awards TV show. I saw/heard that abomination this evening and it was sickening. I don’t know who Ms. Day is, but I hope she never goes near that song again—and this was the IMAGE Awards show?